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As universities find new ways to implement professional development programmes (PDPs), very few scholarly studies have focused on how lifelong learning could serve as a tool to enhance the professional development of staff. To address this knowledge gap, this study aims to examine how the integration of lifelong learning modes into PDPs in a university setting in South Africa could enable professional staff to advance their knowledge and skills. Additionally, the study explores how the different PDPs could be conceptualised by way of lifelong learning to enhance the professional knowledge and competences of staff.

Data were gathered from 41 professional staff in three campuses of the university. The narrative data gathered were evaluated using thematic analysis that consisted of a detailed process of identifying, analysing, organising, describing and reporting the themes that were generated from the data.

Findings suggest that when the university integrates lifelong learning approaches into its professional development programmes, it allows staff to develop their knowledge and skills through diverse learning approaches. When institutions adopt these diverse learning approaches, it enable staff to situate their learning needs along the different lifelong learning modes, negotiate suitable learning modes and flexible schedules with their heads of department, and learn the accepted norms and values of the university. These findings among others lead to further questions about how PDPs could be designed using the three lifelong learning modes to enable staff to prepare adequately for the future of work in higher education.

This study contributes to the scholarly discourse on lifelong learning by showing how higher education institutions could design PDPs along formal, informal and non-formal learning approaches to enhance the knowledge and skills of staff.

This article focuses on the assessment of entrepreneurship competence by selected vocational teachers in Italy. The exploratory research question addresses the extent to which entrepreneurship assessments are competence based, and the research seeks to identify fully fledged assessment programmes with both a formative and summative component, and the use of assessment rubrics. It also explores the extent to which entrepreneurship competence is referred to in school documentation and later assessed, and the tools and strategies used for such assessment.

This case study is part of a larger European research project promoted by Cedefop; in Italy it focused on six selected vocational IVET and CVET programmes and apprenticeship schemes. It used a wide range of instruments to ensure triangulation and multiple perspectives: analysed policy documents and undertook online interviews with experts and policy makers. At VET providers' premises it deployed: analysis of school documents; observations of learning environments; interviews and focus groups with (in schools) teachers, directors and vice directors, learners and alumni (in companies) instructors, company tutors and employers, apprentices and alumni.

Assessment tasks were rarely embedded within fully fledged assessment programmes involving both formative and summative tasks, and assessment rubric for grading. Most of the time, entrepreneurship programmes lacked self-assessment, peer assessment and structured feedback and did not involve learners in the assessment process. Some instructors coached the students, but undertook no clear formative assessment. These findings suggest institutions have a testing culture with regard to assessment, at the level of both policy and practice. In most cases, entrepreneurship competence was not directly assessed, and learning outcomes were only loosely related to entrepreneurship.

One limitation concerned the selection of the VET providers: these were chosen not on a casual basis, but because they ran programmes that were relevant to the development of entrepreneurship competence.

At the policy level, there is a need for new guidelines on competence development and assessment in VET, guidelines that are more aligned with educational research on competence development. To ensure the development of entrepreneurship competence, educators need in-service training and a community of practice.

So far, the literature has concentrated on entrepreneurship education at the tertiary level. Little is known about how VET instructors assess entrepreneurship competence. This study updates the picture of policy and practice in Italy, illustrating how entrepreneurship competence is developed in selected IVET and CVET programmes and apprenticeships.

Service-learning (SL) shows potential to respond to the global policy agenda of education for sustainable development (ESD) by increasing pro-sustainability competences through direct involvement of students in projects that satisfy identified community needs. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of studies that attempt to measure the impact of SL on students’ sustainability competences, especially the action competence. This study aims to address this gap by examining the experiences of higher education students.

A pre-post survey design based on the Self-Perceived Action Competence for Sustainability Questionnaire was conducted on an interdisciplinary group of 219 students of two courses (Sustainable Development and Ecology) in Medellin, Colombia, half of which (109) participated in SL projects.

Sufficient empirical evidence was found to suggest that SL boosts the impact of academic courses regarding action competences in students (specially their willingness to act).

The statistical analysis shows some contradictions that should be addressed in further research.

These results can encourage more educators and universities to implement strategies such as SL to move forward with ESD and thus help overcome the current socioecological crisis.

This paper not only discusses the theoretical potential of SL but also contrasts theory with empirical observations of 13 SL projects assessed in terms of self-perceived action competence for sustainability.

This study aims to investigate the importance of lifelong learning in cultivating competent human capital, fostering long-term career sustainability and promoting gender equality in Bangladesh.

This study has used a qualitative research methodology with inductive reasoning. The researchers used purposive sampling to conduct semi-structured interviews with 34 male and female students at the graduate and undergraduate levels, in addition to six stakeholders. This research is grounded in the theoretical frameworks of human capital development theory and gender and development theory.

The results suggest that there exists a positive correlation between lifelong learning, sustainable career development and gender equality in the context of Bangladesh. Successfully executing strategies might also play a significant role in attaining Bangladesh’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Educational curriculum reform within institutions is urgently needed, necessitating the active involvement and influential contributions of actors and stakeholders. Implementing lifelong learning must also align with gender equality and SDGs.

This study addresses a significant gap in the existing literature by offering insights into the relationship between lifelong learning, career sustainability and gender equality within the specific context of Bangladesh. This study provides valuable contributions to scholars, stakeholders and policymakers while establishing a foundation for future research endeavors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on all facets of education. This led to educational institutions deploying blended and online systems for teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of blended learning in promoting quality education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The qualitative research design was deployed in this study and enabled the researcher to collect data via in-depth interviews. Twenty-five (25) tertiary institutions accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) were randomly selected to participate in this study. The registrars of the institutions were purposively selected and served as the participants for the study. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data collected via the interview. Ethical considerations were adhered to during the study.

The study established that COVID-19 had a devastating effect on tertiary institutions; multiple technological and open-sourced systems were deployed for teaching and learning; blended learning was adopted to augment the traditional face-to-face mode of teaching and learning due to its ease of use, usefulness and accessibility as it was used for quizzes and assignments, accessing lecture notes, among others. Despite these, the deployment of technological and blended systems was met with challenges that somehow affected effective teaching, learning.

The study was limited to 25 tertiary educational institutions in Ghana. It was again limited to the COVID-19 era.

This research aids in understanding the extent of the impact of COVID-19 on teaching and learning and how blended learning is currently deployed and used in tertiary institutions in Ghana. The findings are relevant to policymakers and management of educational institutions as it informs them of the right method and tools to deploy for teaching and learning during pandemics.

As educational institutions globally are dealing with the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is prudent to look into how tertiary institutions in Ghana deploy blended learning to facilitate teaching and learning. Thus, this paper is original as it fills the relevant literature gap in terms of scope, setting, methodology and findings.

This paper aims to explore three operations and supply chain management (OSCM) approaches for meeting the 2 °C targets to counteract climate change: adaptation (adjusting to climatic impacts); mitigation (innovating towards low-carbon practices); and carbon-removing negative emissions technologies (NETs). We suggest that adaptation nor mitigation may be enough to meet the current climate targets, thus calling for NETs, resulting in the following question: How can operations and supply chains be reconceptualized for NETs?

We draw on the sustainable supply chain and transitions discourses along with interview data involving 125 experts gathered from a broad research project focused on geoengineering and NETs. We analyze three case studies of emerging NETs (biochar, direct air carbon capture and storage and ocean alkalinity enhancement), leading to propositions on the link between OSCM and NETs.

Although some NETs are promising, there remains considerable variance and uncertainty over supply chain configurations, efficacy, social acceptability and potential risks of unintended detrimental consequences. We introduce the concept of transformative OSCM, which encompasses policy interventions to foster the emergence of new technologies in industry sectors driven by social mandates but lack clear commercial incentives.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is among the first that studies NETs from an OSCM perspective. It suggests a pathway toward new industry structures and policy support to effectively tackle climate change through carbon removal.

The paucity of artisans in some construction trades and the transitioning of the experience of the few for sustainability calls for concern. Mentorship programmes offer a promising mechanism to support construction artisans through those transitions. Mentorship may enhance artisan decent work and economic growth, like increased income for artisans. This is part of Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Goal 8). Hence, this study aims to investigate issues hindering construction artisan skills growth and suggest measures to improve construction artisan skills through mentorship mechanisms to achieve Goal 8.

The study adopted a qualitative approach and collected data via oral interviews with knowledgeable participants. The participants were consultant experts in mentorship and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) matters, construction organisation management staffers and construction artisans in the Nigerian construction industry. The study covered Lagos and Abuja and achieved saturation at the 30th interviewee. Also, the research utilised a thematic method to analyse the collated data.

Enhanced knowledge sharing accelerates junior artisans’ learning skills quickly, improving artisans’ performance, ensuring sustainability of the skills learned (knowledge retention), encouraging collaboration, building the next generation of leaders and transitioning of experience to mentees emerged as mentorship’s role in developing construction artisans’ skills. Findings show that mentorship mechanisms to develop construction artisan skills face encumbrances. The perceived 32 encumbrances were re-clustered into mentee, mentor and government-related encumbrances. Also, achieving Goal 8 regarding construction artisans may be threatened if these issues are not checked. Thus, the study recommended measures improving construction artisan skills through mentorship mechanisms to achieve Goal 8.

Identifying the major encumbrances facing construction artisan skills improvement through mentorship would be useful to advocate measures to improve construction artisan’s skills to achieve Goal 8.

Organizations increasingly use knowledge arbitrage to stimulate innovation and achieve competitive advantage. However, in knowledge management its use in startups is yet unexplored. This study aims to examine the utilization of knowledge arbitrage by startups, specifically during COVID-19.

This study employed an open-ended essay methodology to explore the drivers and barriers that startups face in utilizing knowledge arbitrage. We collected data from 40 participants to understand the role of knowledge arbitrage in startups’ knowledge management practices.

This study’s findings highlight the significance of knowledge arbitrage for startups. The benefits identified include organizational benefits such as building networks, innovating new products and achieving competitive advantage and financial benefits such as cost reduction and sales growth. The study also identifies several technological and organizational drivers and barriers that startups confront during knowledge arbitrage.

This study contributes to the existing literature on knowledge management by extending our understanding of knowledge arbitrage’s role in startups. Additionally, it sheds light on the importance of knowledge arbitrage for startups and the challenges they face, particularly in a disrupted environment reared by COVID-19. The study provides insights for the scholars and practitioners interested in effective knowledge management in startups.

This research analyses challenges faced by users at various levels in planning and designing participatory simulation models of cities. It aims to identify issues that hinder experts from maximising the effectiveness of the SUMO tool. Additionally, evaluating current methods highlights their strengths and weaknesses, facilitating the use of participatory simulation advantages to address these issues. Finally, the presented case studies illustrate the diversity of user groups and emphasise the need for further development of blueprints.

In this research, action research was used to assess and improve a step-by-step guideline. The guideline's conceptual design is based on stakeholder analysis results from those involved in developing urban logistics scenarios and feedback from potential users. A two-round process of application and refinement was conducted to evaluate and enhance the guideline's initial version.

The guidelines still demand an advanced skill level in simulation modelling, rendering them less effective for the intended audience. However, they have proven beneficial in a simulation course for students, emphasising the importance of developing accurate conceptual models and the need for careful implementation.

This paper introduces a step-by-step guideline designed to tackle challenges in modelling urban logistics scenarios using SUMO simulation software. The guideline's effectiveness was tested and enhanced through experiments involving diverse groups of students, varying in their experience with simulation modelling. This approach demonstrates the guideline's applicability and adaptability across different skill levels.

The purpose of this study is to examine how different innovation efforts can support multinational enterprises’ (MNEs’) pursuits of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in emerging markets and under what circumstances they are applied.

The article comprises in-depth case studies on two high-profile Swedish MNEs: a telecom firm and a fast-fashion firm, with data collected both at the headquarter-level and local-market level.

The study shows that MNEs pursue a selection of prioritized SDGs in emerging markets. To overcome challenges related to attaining these goals, we find that MNEs engage in innovation efforts at different levels of commitment. In some instances, they engage in operational innovation aimed at relieving symptoms of sustainability misconduct and ensuring compliance. In other instances, they engage in systemic innovation efforts, which involve the actual market structures underlying sustainability problems.

MNEs are increasingly incorporating the United Nations SDGs into their innovation strategies. The study contributes to international business research on MNEs’ roles in realizing the SDGs by conceptualizing and discussing two pertinent approaches to innovation.